Cup tether

ABSTRACT

The cup tether is an elastic strap having a first end and a second end and a childproof fastener at one end forming the end into a loop and an elastic loop on the other end. The tether is designed so that one end is attached to an anchor such as a frame of a toddler&#39;s seat, a car seat, a stroller, a highchair, or other somewhat stationary object, and the elastic loop end is attached to a drinking container, e.g. a child&#39;s sippy cup, and baby bottle. One end is secured around the anchor by wrapping the end portion of the strap around the anchor and securing the strap in place with a fastener, preferably a childproof buckle. The container is secured using the elastic loop and the cup is slipped in or the loop is adjusted. The buckle with the fastener and a second buckle for the elastic loop side permit the size of the loop to be adjusted. The cup tether limits the distance the drink container can be thrown and permits easy retrieval of the container.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119 from U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/694,499, filed Jun. 27, 2005 and U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/699,768, filed Jul. 15, 2005. The entiredisclosures of the provisional applications are hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to tethers, more particularly to a tetherfor a drinking cup with a lid of the type commonly known as a “sippycup” to a car seat, stroller, booster seat, so that the distance the cupcan be thrown can be limited and the cup may be readily retrieved whendropped or thrown by a toddler. The cup tether may also be used withbaby bottles, sports bottles, and other drink containers having a lidwith a spout or nipple.

2. Description of the Related Art

Children, whether in jest or in anger, or simply to get attention, areknown to throw objects, such as a drinking containers, toys, etc.,especially when they reach the “terrible two's.” Throwing objects isdangerous, but the danger increases when the object is thrown in amoving motor vehicle, as the driver may be distracted. If a drinking cupis thrown or dropped, the contents may spill if the container forcefullyhits the floor. Sometimes the child does not throw the object butaccidentally lets the cup slip out of their hands. In either case, achild may find it hard to regain the object if they are strapped into acar seat, high chair or stroller.

A cup tether that limits the distance an object can be thrown and thatcan be used to retrieve the dropped or thrown object is desirable. It isfurther desirable that the tether be adapted for attachment to childseats, and be fastened thereto by childproof fasteners that aredifficult for the child to open. It is also desirable that such a leashbe stretchable, so that a parent or caregiver may pull the drinkcontainer away from the toddler for refilling the drink containerwithout having to unfasten the tether.

A number of devices tether a parent to a child. U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,883to Baggetta discloses a single elastic strap with the ends sown in aloop. One end fits over a parent's wrist, while the other end fits overthe child's wrist. The strap is elastic to allow some freedom ofmovement between the parent and child. The device is long and is notdesigned to anchor the child to an object nor anchor one object toanother.

A similar device to the '833 patent is U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,941 toVilleneuve. The '941 patent discloses a safety belt with female membersof a fastening elements sown on the ends of a single strap and thecorresponding male members movable along the length of the strap. Thefastening elements allow the ends of the strap to be formed into loops.One loop is disposed around a parent's waist and the other around achild's waist so the parent and child are attached side-by-side. Thestrap can also be fit around the wrists of the users. Again, the deviceis long and is not designed to anchor the child to an object nor anchorone object to another.

A device to tether a cup to an object is U.S. Patent Publication Number2005/0115996, filed Jun. 2, 2005. The device is a single elastic leashwith childproof fasteners on both ends. The male members of thefasteners are slidable along the length of the leash and the femalemembers are sewn to the ends. The fasteners, once engaged, form twoloops, one to be connected to relatively stationary object and the otherto be secured to the cup or drinking vessel. However, both ends usechildproof buckles and pose a difficulty for the parent to disengageeither the cup or the leash from the anchor.

A number of other tethering devices have been developed that allow theuser to carry bottles without encumbering ones hands. U.S. PatentPublication Number 2002/0046984, published Apr. 25, 2002, describes atwo-ended bottle holder. The bottle holder is bottle and a metal springclip at the opposite end for attaching the holder to a belt loop. Theholder loop is adjustable to fit the top circumference of the bottle.The band is apparently inelastic, being made from rope or nylon.

U.S. Patent Publication Number 2002/0005418, published Jan. 17, 2002,describes a bottle connector for attaching a bottle to something orsomeone. The bottle connector has two “O” shaped-rings that areconnected to a strap or a clip by way of a linking key ring. The “O”shaped-rings are adjustable and fit under a ridge disposed at thebottle's neck. The connector is especially suited for runners who do notwant to hold things in their hands as they run. The connector can beattached to the individual, their backpack or clothing.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,261, issued to Wu on May 9, 1995, describes adetachable carrying band for a child's water bottle. The '261 devicecomprises a strap that is worn around a person's neck and a ring that issecured under an annular ridge on the water bottle. The strap has pinprojections that releasably attach to the ring. When extreme force isplaced on the bottle the pins release from the ring loosening the bottlefrom the strap and thereby preventing the possibility of et al. on Sep.21, 1999, describes a bottle holder comprising a cord and an elasticring. The ring is secured to the underside of the annular flange of abottle and suspends the bottle from a cord worn around a person's neck.

Numerous other bottle holders have also been developed that are wornfrom a user's neck and hold a drink container using an adjustablenoose-like end. U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,066, issued to Giacona III on Mar.14, 2000, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,338, issued to Giacona III on Sep. 3,2002, describe a bottled drink carrier comprising a strap having anupper looped end and lower looped end. The upper end encircles aperson's neck and the lower end holds the bottle. The lower endcomprises an adjustable noose formed by a cable and a slide. The nooseis placed over the neck of the bottle and is tightened by sliding theslide up the cable close to the bottle's neck.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,780, issued to Becker on Oct. 17, 2000, describes abottle holding tote. The tote is a nylon belt having two ends. One endhas an attachment means to hold onto an object and the second end is anoose that holds the bottle. The noose comprises a nylon cord and aspring-loaded clip. The noose is placed over the bottle's neck andtightened with the clip.

Some bottle holders have been designed specifically for children as partof a device or garment worn on the body. U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,977, issuedto Barville et al. on Jun. 27, 1978, describes a bottle-anchoring devicedesigned to hold a baby bottle directly on a harness worn by an infant.The anchoring end uses a number of different sized rings that can beselected to fit the circumference of a particular bottle's neck.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,957, issued to Scharf on Jan. 21, 1986, describes ababy bottle security garment. The '957 device comprises a vest orgarment worn on the upper half of the body, a sleeve for receiving thebottle and a strap for securing the sleeve to the garment. The sleeve isstrapped to the center of the chest and holds the bottle upright.

Other bottle holders have been developed to encase the entire drinkcontainer. U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,841, issued to Johnson on Mar. 7, 2000,describes an article holder that encircles the article and a carrier onwhich the article is being carried, such as a bike. The holder comprisesa flexible, resilient sheet that is wrapped around the article and thecarrier. The holder has a layer of non-skid material on it to increasefriction and prevent slippage.

U.S. Patent Publication Number 2001/0032867, published Oct. 25, 2001,describes a thermally insulated beverage bottle holder made fromneoprene that encases the entire bottle. A zipper disposed vertically onthe outside of the holder allows a user to easily insert and take outthe bottle from within the holder. The holder acts as a carrying caseand has a detachable strap to hang from a person's neck or shoulder.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,079, issued to Heather on Sep. 15, 1992, describes acontainer-carrying device. The device comprises a number of longitudinalstraps and a number of circumferential straps that, in combination,surround and hold the container. One pair of longitudinal straps extendsup over the bottle to form a shoulder strap. A buckle disposed at thestraps ends make the shoulder strap adjustable. The straps arepreferably made of high-tensile strength synthetic fiber material.French Patent Number 2,615,078 published on Nov. 18, 1998 shows a sackmade up of a number of straps that surround the bottle to easily carryand transport a bottle.

Still other bottle carriers hold drink containers by providing a pouchor cavity for the drink container to rest in. U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,993,issued to Andrino on Jun. 11, 2002, describes a multi-purpose bottleholder. The holder comprises an elongate cylindrical body having aclosed bottom and an open top that forms a cavity to receive and holdthe bottle. A strap is attached to the top end of the cylindrical cavityto secure the holder to one's shoulder or waist. An O-ring attached tothe holder encircles the neck of the bottle and secures the bottle inthe cavity of the holder.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,039, issued to Parcelles on Mar. 14, 1995, describesa baby bottle holder comprising an elongate elastic strap having a pouchat one end and a removably attachable loop at the opposite end. Thepouch receives the baby bottle and retains the bottle using an elasticband found at the opening of the pouch. The removably attachable loopedend connects to itself by snaps, Velcro or buckles.

Other bottle holders are described or shown in U.S. Design Patent NumberDes. 217,828, issued to Hilliard on Jun. 16, 1970 (displays anornamental design for a beverage can holder); U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,183,issued to McConnell et al. on Nov. 7, 1995 (a drink holder having anannular support, vertical fingers attached to the end of the support andhorizontal feet that extend from the end of the fingers to support thebase of a container); U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,486, issued to Smith et al. onOct. 20, 1998 (a flexible arm mountable to a surface such as a strollerhaving a engaging channel for holding a baby bottle or a cup); and U.S.Pat. No. 6,264,153, issued to Ragner et al. on Jul. 24, 2001 (easymounting beverage holder having at least one support arm, a cup shapedbody attached to the arm, a lid and a flexible straw).

None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or incombination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thusa cup tether solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cup tether is an elastic strap having a first end and a second endand a childproof fastener at one end forming the end into a loop and anelastic loop on the other end. The tether is designed so that one end isattached to an anchor such as a frame of a toddler's seat, a car seat, astroller, a highchair, or other somewhat stationary object, and theelastic loop end is attached to a drinking container, e.g. a child'ssippy cup, and baby bottle. One end is secured around the anchor bywrapping the end portion of the strap around the anchor and securing thestrap in place with a fastener, preferably a childproof buckle. Thecontainer is secured using the elastic loop and the cup is slipped in orthe loop is adjusted. The buckle with the fastener and a second bucklefor the elastic loop side permit the size of the loop to be adjusted.The cup tether limits the distance the drink container can be thrown andpermits easy retrieval of the container.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a cuptether that tethers a toddler's sippy cup or other drink container to acar seat, stroller, highchair, booster seat, or the like, in order tolimit the distance the drink container can be thrown and to permit easyretrieval of the container when it is dropped or thrown by the toddler.

It is another object of the invention to provide a cup tether thathaving an adjustable anchor and drink container loops in order to tetherdifferent size toddler drink containers to any available child's seat.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a cup tether thatprovides an elastic tether for a toddler's drink container so that aparent or caregiver may pull the drinking container out of the child'sreach when refilling the container without unfastening the tether fromthe anchor.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements andarrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive,dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

These and other objects of the present invention will become readilyapparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and still further objects, features and advantages of thepresent invention will become apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof,especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein like reference numerals in the various figures are utilized todesignate like components, wherein the hidden lines form no part of theinvention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a cup tether accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cup tether of the present inventionwith one buckle in an open configuration and a fixed loop;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cup tether of the present inventionwith one buckle in a partially open configuration and a slidable loop;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the buckle of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the cup tether of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of the cup tetherof the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the cup tether ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is a cup tether, designated generally as 100 inthe drawings. The tether 100 is designed to tether a drink container102, such as a toddler's sippy cup, baby bottle, sports bottle, or anyother toddlers having a lid with a spout, or nipple, to an anchor 104,such as a child's car seat, stroller, highchair, booster seat, or anyother child equipment. The tether 100 may be attached to a belt, post,leg divider, or other supporting part of the frame of the anchor 104upon which the child is near or seated. In the context of a car seat,the tether 100 may be attached to a shoulder belt, a waist belt or anabdominal shield. The opposite end of the tether is designed to hold thecontainer 102, preferably a cup. The cup can be made of plastic or otherunbreakable material and has a lid to prevent spills. A conventional“sippy cup”, for example, includes a cup, a lid that snaps onto the cup,and a spout attached to the lid that the child uses to sip the drink.Some containers 102 may include a straw that extends to the bottom.

As shown in FIGS. 2and 3, the tether 100 is an elongated elastic strap106 having two opposing ends 108, 110 and a fastener 112 disposed at afirst end 108 of the strap 12. The fastener can be used to form thestrap 106 into a loop, which is secured by the fastener 112. Thefastener can be snaps, hook and loop, or other such fasteners designednot be easily unfastened by a toddler.

One embodiment is a relatively childproof fastener 112 disposed at end108 of the strap 106, such as the buckles shown in the drawings,including FIG. 4. FIG. 2 shows tether 100 with the buckle open. Thebuckle includes a male buckle portion 114 and a female socket 116. Themale buckle portion 114 has a vertical post 118 forming an opening andthrough which the strap 106 is threaded in order to adjust the size ofthe loop 200 in conventional manner. The male buckle portion 114contains a post, tongue, or tangs 120 to engage the female socket 116.

The female socket 116 is fixed to strap end 108 by looping strap 106around a post 122 and securing the strap 106 with stitching. Femalesocket 116 can have a slot or opening 124 designed to engage the tangs120 of the male buckle member 114. Typically more force and manualdexterity than a toddler is capable of are required to unfasten thebuckle. Thus, the fastener 112 has an open position, where the male andfemale members are not engaged and the loop 200 is open and a closedposition engaging the male and female members.

The vertical post 118 of the male buckle 114 is located in the center ofan opening and permits the strap 106 to loop around. The position of themale buckle 114 on strap 106 is adjustable because it can slide alongthe strap 106 toward either end 108, 110 and be fixed in place bytension.

The second end 110 is formed into a loop 202 by looping a distal end 126of the strap 106 back upon the strap 106 and affixing it thereto. Thedistal end 126 can be affixed permanently to fix the size of the loop.In this embodiment, the cup tether 100 can be designed to be used with aspecific drinking container 102. The loop formed from the distal end 126can be elastic or non-elastic. Further, the distal end 126 can engage aslidable buckle 128. The buckle 128 is disposed on strap 106 and canslide along the length of the strap 106. The distal end 126 can bepermanently engaged to the buckle 128 so the loop 202 can be sized butrestricted from being “opened” by disengaging either the distal end 126or the buckle 128. The buckle 128 can be set in place by friction or canbe a spring loaded tension member that engages the strap 106 in itsnormal state and a parent must depress a spring loaded member to releasethe tension to move the buckle 128.

The strap 106 of tether 100 is preferably made of elastic material. Theelasticity of the tether 100 provides resilience when a user is tryingto pull the drinking container 102 in any direction. Also, if thedrinking container 102 is being held by tether 100, the resilience ofthe strap 106 lessens the chance that the drinking container 102 will besuddenly jerked, causing A lid on the drinking container 102 to falloff. A particular advantage of using the elastic tether 100 on a carseat located in the rear of a car is that a parent can pull the drinkingcontainer 102 from the back seat to the front of the car to fill the cup106 with liquid without having to move from the front seat. The tether100 is preferably made with elastic material other non-elastic materialcould also be used.

The strap 106 may be encased in decorative fabric 130. The fabric 130serves a decorative effect. The fabric can be folded in half and sewnalong one edge so that the strap 106 is inserted in the fabric, or thefabric can be sewn directly on the strap 106.

The tether 100 may be any width size that corresponds to the size of thefasteners used at the ends 108, 110 of the strap 106. In an embodiment,one-inch fasteners can be used at the first end 108 and the width of thetether 100 should be one inch. The length of the tether 100 is abouttwenty to thirty inches long, with a preferred length being about thirtyinches long when the fastener 112 is unfastened. The tether 100 can beabout eighteen inches long when the fastener 112 is fastened. The lengthof the strap 106 allows a child to pull the drinking container 102 up totheir mouth and drink out of it without having to worry that the childwill strangle itself with it. Also, the strap 106 is generally shortenough that the drinking container 102 will not fall all the way to thecar floor if the toddler drops it.

Referring now to FIG. 5 which illustrates another embodiment of thepresent invention wherein a tether 400 can have an elongated elasticstrap 402 having two opposing ends 404, 406 having hook and loopfasteners (e.g. Velcro™) 408. A hook portion 410 engages loop portion412 can be used to form an enclosed portion 414. The hook and loopfastener 408 can be designed not be easily unfastened by a toddler. Thehook or loop portions can be sized such to allow a range of positions toalter the size of the loop.

FIG. 6 illustrates a further embodiment of the present invention. Atether 500 can be an elongated elastic strap 502 having two opposingends 504, 506. A first end 504 has another embodiment for a buckle 300.The buckle 300 includes a male buckle portion 302 and a female socket304. The male buckle portion 302 has tangs 306 and can have center post308 to engage the female socket 304. The male buckle portion 302 can bethreaded through strap 502 and slidably engaged in conventional mannerin order to adjust the size of a loop that can be formed when the endsmeet. The tangs 306 can be designed to engage female socket 304 to bechild proof, because of the pressure required to disengage the tangs 306from the opening 310.

The female socket 304 can be fixed to the first strap end 504 by loopingthe strap 502 around a post portion of female socket 304 and securingthe strap 502 with stitching. Female socket 304 can have a slot oropening 310 designed to engage the tangs 306 of the male buckle member302. Typically a toddler does not have the strength and manual dexteritycapable of unfastening the buckle 300. Thus, the fastener 300 has anopen position, where the male and female members 302, 304 are notengaged and a loop is open, and a closed position engaging the male andfemale members and closing the loop.

Second end 506 of strap 502 has a hook and loop fastener (e.g. Velcro™)408 which can be used to form an enclosed loop. The hook and loopfastener 408 can be designed not be easily unfastened by a toddler, asabove.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of tether 600. The tether 600 includesstrap 602 with first end 604 and second end 606. The first end 604 canhave hook and loop fasteners with a hook portion 608 engaging loopportion 610 which can be used to form an enclosed portion. The hook andloop fastener can be designed not be easily unfastened by a toddler.Second end 606 is formed into a loop 612 by looping a distal end 614 ofthe strap 602 back upon the strap 602 and affixing it thereto. Thedistal end 614 can be affixed permanently to fix the size of the loop612.

The strap 602 may be encased in decorative fabric 616 which can serve adecorative effect. The fabric 616 can be folded in half and sewn alongone edge so that the strap 602 is inserted in the fabric, or the fabriccan be sewn directly on the strap 602. In an embodiment, the hook andloop portions and/or the distal end 614 can be affixed to fabric 616instead of strap 602.

FIGS. 2, 3, and 5-7 illustrate numerous embodiments of tether 100, 400,500, and 600. The ends of the tether can be arranged in any combinationof stitched, hook and loop and buckles. Alternating the attachments onthe ends of the strap allows a user to define an “end”. A user can setone end to always be set for the size of the container, while the othercan be varied if the user moves the strap from car seat to stroller tohighchair to booster seat. In the alternating embodiments, a user canchoose which attachment works best with the user's particular containerand/or items for affixing the strap. The present invention is notlimited to the combinations of attachments illustrated herein.

Thus, while there have been shown, described, and pointed outfundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferredembodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions,substitutions, and changes in the form and details of the devicesillustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in theart without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Forexample, it is expressly intended that all combinations of thoseelements and/or steps which perform substantially the same function, insubstantially the same way, to achieve the same results are within thescope of the invention. Substitutions of elements from one describedembodiment to another are also fully intended and contemplated. It isalso to be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn toscale, but that they are merely conceptual in nature. It is theintention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope ofthe claims appended hereto.

1. A tether for anchoring a drinking container to an object, comprising:an elongated elastic strap having a first end and a second end; afastener fastening the first end into a first loop adapted for anchoringthe strap to the anchor, wherein the fastener has an open position and aclosed position; and a distal end fastened to the second end forming asecond loop adapted for securing the drinking container to the strap,wherein the second loop is only in a closed position.
 2. The tether ofclaim 1, wherein the fastener is a mating childproof buckle having amale portion and a female socket, the male portion having a resilientcatch, the female socket being a slot having a rectangular opening forreleasably receiving the male portion.
 3. The tether of claim 1, whereinthe distal end further comprises a buckle slidable along the elongatedelastic strap to alter the size of the second loop.
 4. The tether ofclaim 1, wherein the fastener is adjustable along the length of theelastic strap.
 5. The tether of claim 1, wherein the strap is betweentwenty inches and thirty inches long.
 6. A tether for anchoring adrinking container to an object, comprising: an elongated elastic straphaving a first end and a second end; a fastener fastening the first endinto a first loop adapted for anchoring the strap to the anchor, whereinthe fastener has an open position and a closed position; and a secondfastener fastening the second end forming a second loop adapted forsecuring the drinking container to the strap, wherein the fastener hasan open position and a closed position.
 7. The tether of claim 6,wherein the second loop is only in a closed position.